”In a telephone interview with The Associated Press, Johnson said Jeffrey Kessler’s assertions were “ridiculous” while praising Stern as a commissioner who has done plenty to further the success of black players in the league.”This league is more diverse than any other league and has more minoritiesin powerful positions than any other league,” Johnson told AP. “That’s all about David Stern and his vision and what he wanted todo. He make sure minorities had high-ranking positions from the league officeall the way down to coaches and front office people.”

Lost in the diabolical din of the recent Derek Fisher report on FoxSports.com was the assertion that Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant is willing to accept a 50-50 deal. Two sources with knowledge of his thinking, meanwhile, told SI.com that Bryant has indeed made it known that he's open to considering the down-the-middle split. Bryant, it is believed, has indicated to union leaders on numerous occasions that -- so long as the system issues were adequately resolved -- the season was not worth sacrificing if the negotiations came down to a couple percentage points on BRI (which, to be clear, are hardly chump change considering they're worth approximately $40 million annually per percentage point).

Stern proclaimed officially Friday there is no longer a chance of squeezing in an 82-game schedule with a Dec. 1 starting date. However, multiple sources predict a 78-game slate will be staged if the sides compromise on the revenue split by next weekend. The final schedule has to be an even number, sources said.

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: It wouldn’t be a full season, but it would be close.

If owners and players can quickly bridge the two percent difference on Basketball Related Income, the league would begin a 78 game season in early December.

Sure, it would be a month late and fans would lose four games. 78 games sounds appealing considering there was a strong chance of missing an entire season.

The question is if the two sides can, or will, compromise on the last stages of negotiations before further damage to the league and sport is done.
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I think we’re within reach (on system issues), within striking distance of getting a deal,” Hunter said. There are still big hurdles ahead, ones that could mean negotiations will need to go through the weekend or even into next week.

Pretty widely expected that NBA’s next announcement will be that start of season postponed “indefinitely,” or “until further notice.” Question is, will league and union meet/bargain before that announcement is made? Nothing planned for (Sunday), source says.

While two weeks of the regular season have already been canceled and at least two more are expected to go soon, two sources close to the negotiations said the union believes that Stern assured his ESPN and TNT television partners that, by back-ending the missed games, he can still deliver an 82-game season even if starts in December. Accurate or not, the players’ perception of when their early paychecks will truly be gone for good will determine when they reach for the panic button.

Various publications are reporting that the NBA could still play an 82 game season if players and owners solve their differences and sign off on a new collective bargaining agreement.

It has to happen quickly, though, and this could be the problem.

Even after days of mediation, owners and players are holding firm to their positions on Basketball Related Income and system issues like the luxury tax.

There’s another complication: reports indicate that owners are split into small market Hawks and big market Doves. The Hawks - teams like Charlotte, Milwaukee, Phoenix - are holding firm for major concessions, while the Doves -teams like Chicago, Miami, and New York - are eager to settle.

Hopefully, the two sides meet next week and make progress. The alternative isn’t pretty.--O.Sandor.

Stern’s version of what’s been going on behind closed doors has, of course, been disputed. But his efforts were typical of a commissioner, who has always seemed eager to be viewed as some kind of modern plantation overseer treating NBA men as if they were his boys. It’s part of Stern’s M.O. Like his past self-serving edicts on dress code or the questioning of officials, his moves are intended to do little more than show how he’s the one keeping the hired hands in their place.Link

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Perspective matters.

Bryant Gumbel is clearly losing perspective on the NBA lockout when he compares Commissioner David Stern to a plantation overseer.

To be fair, Stern is many things: cocky, arrogant, smarmy, confrontational, self-absorbed, militant, egotistical, and difficult.

And he’s been called even worse.

Some fans, especially in Seattle and Vancouver, would say he’s dishonest after their franchises were taken in a conspiracy that would impress filmmaker Oliver Stone.

But a ‘plantation overseer‘? Implying that multimillionaire NBA players are slaves to the owners and Stern?

Clearly, this is unfair even for a dubious character like Stern.

O.Sandor.
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NBA labor talks stretched into the wee hours Wednesday morning as players and owners met with a federal mediator, hoping to deliver the progress Commissioner David Stern says is needed to avoid canceling more games. Both sides met for more than 15 hours, their longest negotiating session since owners locked out players when the old collective bargaining agreement expired June 30.

In a news conference later, union President Derek Fisher didn’t appear to be ruffled by what McGee said. “The person that spent the least amount of time in the room can’t make that statement,” Fisher said. “He’s in no position to make that statement on behalf of the group.”

Yet during an interview on WFAN on Wednesday, Billy Hunter indicated that an agreement between the owners and players had been nearing completion. "We thought we could live with the deal we were close to making," Hunter said.

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Two people can see the same thing very differently.

Commissioner David Stern said the players and owners were miles apart after the two met last weekend, while union head Billy Hunter apparently believed a deal was there to be made.

As usual, the truth lies in the middle. Somewhere.

Will the players and owners ever find the middle? After all, the two sides are unlikely to find an ideological common ground when it requires them to leave their line in the sand.

Right now, Stern and Hunter can’t even agree on the state of negotiations. So how can they possibly bridge the gap on hundreds of million of dollars, keep the groups they represent happy, and preserve their professional reputations by forging a ‘win’?

It doesn’t look good. A start would be to agree on how exactly to characterize negotiations.O.Sandor.

Stern wiped out the first two weeks of the season - exactly 100 games - after more than seven hours of negotiations failed to produce a new labor deal and preserve the Nov. 1 season openers.

The cancellations mark the NBA's first work stoppage since the 1998-99 season was reduced to 50 games.Stern said players and owners were "very far apart on virtually all issues. ... We just have a gulf that separates us.

Fisher encouraged all players to attend an NBPA meeting in Los Angeles on Monday, and to utilize “our personal social networking channels to show the fans and you all, that we are united and want to get back to work under a fair deal.”

(Per Derek Fisher:) “On Monday, Chris (Paul) and I will tweet and post “LET US PLAY.” This was used by the NFL players and many will be joining us on Monday and retweeting the same message to show their support for our players. I will also be using the hash tag #StandUnited after all my messages until this lockout is over.

NBA players and owners still have no deal headed into the deadline day for starting the season on time.

Negotiators for the sides agreed to meet Sunday and then huddled for more than five hours before breaking for the night. They agreed to resume talks Monday afternoon, but union president Derek Fisher of the Los Angeles Lakers acknowledged that the sides are "not necessarily closer" to a deal than they were when talks stalled last week.

In addition to (LeBron) James, (Dwyane) Wade and (Chris) Bosh, the Heat were represented at Saturday’s game by free-agent point guard Mario Chalmers, with former Heat player Dorell Wright also among those participating. Heat forward Udonis Haslem, still working his way back from last season’s foot injury, coached James’ team.

Center Eddy Curry, a Heat free-agent target, was a no-show, leaving unanswered questions about his conditioning. Wesley Matthews and Lou Williams also were removed from the rosters, with Harden and Tristan Thompson added.

A (Coach Sergio Scariolo): The Olympia has received many calls by the representative of Bryant, because the player was interested in playing in Milan.We, however, from the beginning we had decided not to sign players under lockout, and only one for which we wanted to make an exception was Danilo Gallinari due to human and personal connotations that attach to this team.From the beginning we thought it was the only signing NBA going to do.